Cyprus’s most important wetland faces ecological disaster as flamingo numbers crashed from 13,000 in previous years to just 47 this month, the Parliamentary Environment Committee heard on Wednesday.
The Game and Fauna Service raised the alarm over the collapse of bird populations at Akrotiri Salt Lake and Lake Makria, a Ramsar Convention site that hosts 2% of all birds recorded in Cyprus. Senior Game Service official Nikos Kasinis said “whilst up to 13,000 flamingos were recorded in previous years, their number this month was limited to just 47.”
He cited poor quality water inflow to the lakes and development pressures on the area.
The committee heard that water appears in the Salt Lake during prolonged drought periods, indicating contaminated inflow. Environmental groups BirdLife and Terra Cypria said the system has collapsed as water quality no longer allows bird survival.
Kouria Mayor Pantelis Georgiou, who has coordinated eight involved bodies from the Republic and Bases since last September, described generalised disorder. “Lawlessness prevails in the area. The aquifer water risks permanent contamination due to developments, whilst Asomatos and Akrotiri remain without a sewerage network,” he said.
Georgiou said an extensive Action Plan is expected to be finalised within February in cooperation with Limassol Municipality and government departments, which will then be discussed with NGOs.
The mayor asked MPs to help secure an Interior Ministry decree to immediately include Asomatos and Akrotiri communities within sewerage system limits. He said specific sewage sources from properties not connected to the network have already been identified and cut off in cooperation with the Limassol Sewerage Board.
Discussion focused on the vertical pipe ending at Lady’s Mile. Reports emerged of up to 500 tonnes per hour of untreated sewage being discharged into the sea at points where people swim and fish.
Lake Makria was described as a “swamp” and “sewage site”, with environmental groups alleging that contractors for large developments discharge water without following licensing terms, irreparably damaging the wetland.
MPs expressed strong dissatisfaction over the delay in taking measures. Andreas Kafkalias questioned why the central state cannot coordinate services, Kostas Kosta referred to an ongoing crime, whilst committee chair Charalambos Theopemptou requested Audit Office intervention to conduct an audit of Akrotiri Salt Lake management.
The Environment Committee warned that without immediate measures, “half the Salt Lake will be lost in coming years”, with irreversible consequences for public health and Cyprus’s biodiversity.
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